Wednesday, September 29, 2010

I just finished reading Nomansland, by Lesley Hauge. It was incredible. It was unlike anything I've read before. No Vampires, Fairies, Magic -- Nomansland is unique. The story takes place in the future, on a wind-swept island called Foundland, where there are no men. In fact, the women in Foundland are taught that men are the enemy. Women run the island, grow the crops, tend the animals, and defend the island from an enemy that never shows up.

As I read this book, I kept waiting for action, maybe an attack, but about 3/4 of the way through, I realized that Nomansland was not meant to have action. It was meant for us to think, to contemplate, to ponder over what we call normal and common in our lives.

The main character, Keller, follows all the rules, whatever they may be. She accepts her way of life, even if she's not satisfied in it. When a group of girls, including Keller, finds an underground cavern filled with "smooth glossy, bound books" (magazines), colored paints (make-up), and "shoes that were probably used as weapons" (high-heels) - all things forbidden to them, Keller wonders what made the Old People from the Time Before so... bad. And why do the women and girls of Foundland have to live this way, forbidden from many things that will make them happy? Why live such a dull and colorless life in isolation?

Overall, I really liked this book. It wasn't full of action or suspense, but I felt the need to turn the page to find out what happens to Keller, if her questions will be answered, and by whom. I enjoyed the ending as well, which gives new hope to the island of Nomansland, but most of all, to Keller.